On a day which saw "Piers Morgan Tonight" celebrate it's two year anniversary, the program's very first guest – Oprah Winfrey – was conducting her own television moment, as the oft-referred "Queen of Media" welcomed Lance Armstrong for a sit-down interview.

The most-decorated cyclist in the sports history, Armstrong chose this night to air a stunning admission to rampant illegal drug use while competing in, and winning, seven cosecutive Tour de France titles.

Having long been an Armstrong attacker, both on the air, and via social media, Piers Morgan welcomed journalist Buzz Bissinger to react to the breaking news:

"Sensational revelations," said the author best known for his non-fiction book "Friday Night Lights." "As we all know, no one is really shocked by them. At least he was somewhat forthcoming. What I do want to hear more about is his justification for lying, literally, up to the final moment."

While Bissinger and Morgan further discussed Armstrong's all-encompassing confession, celebrated sports columnist Christine Brennan sat in a nearby "Green Room," riveted by the story, and working on her own column for USA Today.
"Wow, that was a wild minute of television, wasn't it. The 'Yes, Yes, Yes,'" Brennan quoted, repeating Armstrong's series of answers to Winfrey's opening questions. "This man lied with ease, Piers, for over a decade. And he came clean – if we want to call it coming clean, I guess it's coming clean, if we can believe this now – with that same kind of ease. Ruthless. You almost wonder if he has a heart or a soul to be able to completely do a 180 so quickly on something that he has stood by forever. That was breathtaking."

Initially regarded as the greatest cyclist of all-time, Brennan is convinced that Armstrong's legacy will now be written in an entirely different fashion.

"In the pantheon of sporting cheats, has anybody come close to Lance Armstrong?" asked Morgan, referring to the Texan's continued disregard for the sport's rules.

"No," said Brennan flatly. "He's it. He's number one. We can retire the gold medal for cheating."

soundoff(6 Responses)

jackie gouge

BREANNEN AND PIERS WELL PIERS I USE TO LOVE WATCHING YOUR SHOW BUT AS OF NOW I WILL NOT WATCH YOU AFTER WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT LANCE YES HE WAS WRONG BUT YOU USE TO TRUST AND BELIEVE IN GOD SO WHAT NOW YOU AND CB HAVE THE RIGHT TO JUDGE HIM? WE ALL HAVE BAD CHOICES HIS PUBLIC I BET YOU USE TO GET HYPED UP WHEN HE WON BUT NOW THAT HE BEAT CANCER NOW HE HAS TO DEAL WITH OUR DISEASE OF OUT JUDGEMENT HE HAS DONE A GOOD THING HE HAS COME CLEAN . IM SURE YOU HAD BILL PEOPLE ON YOUR SHOW THAT HAS HURT THE PEOPLE MORE THAN LANCE LETS TAKE THE DRUG USER WILLIE NELSON HE STOLE FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BY NOT PAYING TAXES SO LANCE MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND AS A CHRISTIAN YES WE FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. OLD THING HAVE PASSED AWAY ALL THINGS BECOME NEW AND HE WHO ADMITS HIS SIN GOD IS FAITHFUL AND FORGIVES LET HE WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE ALSO COOPER YOU SAID ONE DAY THAT WE WONT MENTION THE KIDS NAME THAT SHOT THE CHILDREN YES IT WAS SAD BUT HE IS A VICTIM ASWELL WE LET HIM DOWN SO HOW CAN YOU TELL THE VICTIMS OF HURRICANE SANDY THAT YOU WILL PRAY FOR THEM BUT AT THE SAME TIME CAST A STONE TO THE BOY THAT DID THIS? A DOUBLE MINDED PERSON IS UNSTABLE IN ALL HIS WAYS. I LOVED YOU TWO SO MUCH BUT NOW YOUR LETTING YOU GREED FOR RATING BLIND YOUR VISION OF HOPE SO IN CLOSING LET GO BACK TO A MAN NAMED MICHAEL JACKSON . IM STARTING WITH THE MAN IN THE MIRROR . GUESS WHAT LANCE IS AHEAD OF YOU BOTH IN PROGRESS SO PLEASE GEY BACK TO WHAT WE I LOVED ABOUT YOU BOTH . THAT IS CARING AND FORGIVING AND HAVE FAITH AND HELPING OTHERS AS THEY FALL. I LEARNED FROM A SOAP OPERA YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS JOHN JACKS FATHER SAID IT PERFECTLY WHILE I WAS IN PRISON HE SAID A MAN IS NOT MEASURED BY THE SUCCESS HE HAS BUT BY THE FAILURES HE OVERCOMES SO ARE YOU GOING TO BY BEING SO JUDGING? I WILL WATCH YOU WHEN YOU RUN A STORY ABOUT THAT WE CAN CHANGE FROM OUR DOWNFALLS AND GROW TO BE STRONGER AND HELP OTHERS THAT HAVE FALLEN IN THAT AREA WE HAVE.

Jackie thank you for bringing me back to the basics of my life im watched thease shows for so long and your right im going to boycoo them they are double sided just to get a rating for thier show so until these guys apologize and find a way to show people can turn their lives around. lance you owe me nothing god has forgiven you he is the one you sinned against not me and im sorry ive failed you as a fan will you forgive me?

What's wrong with you two? All the interviewees and Piers talked about, was that there is something deeply wrong with Armstrong. This charade was not just executed with precision, but cruelty and ruthlessness. He destroyed some people's lives and careers, for daring to question him - all the while, knowing that they were right. He was rude, arrogant and thoughtless to the people he came in contact with and it was written-off as the difficult personality of a celebrity perfectionist. It's not just that he lied, it's that he treated people badly while doing it. Why? Why did he do it - all of it? That's all they were asking.

Lance is a jerk. He is in hell now and will stay there forever. There is no excuse for anything he has done. This said, Christine Brenann is disgusting. She is kicking a man who is already down. Oh, and she is being paid for doing it.

If we talk individuals with ethics, Brennan does not qualify. She is as arrogant as Armstrong. You are not God almighty, Brennan.

WOW finally . . . this shouldn't be a surprise to a sensible person, As I was one of the people that provided prizes for some of Lance's contests and THE first company on the internet to do prize providing for sports events (100,000 or so around the world). We knew 25+ years ago that people "cheat" "cut corners" "break the rules" in sports contests.

I was verifying these sports claims (probably the only one in the world) 15 years before Lance started doping. IT HAPPENS. ITS SAD when it gets to that level, (its also human nature). I have witnessed numerous fraudulent winning sport claims from hometown-locals (Stamford, Danbury, Hartford) to national level events. Even in golf, (maybe the highest integrity sport). Speaking out from the onset (very quietly) as no-one wanted to believe the opposite, with smoking gun facts, while continually chastised?

What is REALLY DEPLORABLE are the (officials, state regulators, politicians, agencys, people, partners etc) I have come in contact with, that KNEW & ignored the truth and THEN used these NON-compliant winners, looking the other way, "grabbing onto their coattails" per se, for PR & their OWN personal gain.
. . . Lance "manned up" . . . now they all have to be exposed (the state of CT demanded to shut down our web site that listed these facts, as they backed cheats) (any 1st amendment lawyers out there?) . . . that will be MUCH LARGER STORY in the future as the names will be household
http://www.hole-in-won.com/HIOrule-breakers.htm
http://www.kevinkolenda.com

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